NEWS \ News & Features

by Chris Martin

Part of the powerhouse Red Bull HMC KTM Racing team at the South Boston Speedway autograph signing.

Ray Gundy photo

Wisconsnite Mitch Hansen is the man behind the powerful Red Bull HMC KTM Racing squad that plays such an impressive role at each AMA Supermoto event. With full KTM backing and a wide-array of talent at his disposal, Hansen's team is arguably the deepest and most professionally organized in the paddock.

And to think, just a handful of months ago, HMC Racing was running ultra-trick Ducati 998RS Superbikes up front in U.S. Superbike competition.

Recently, Mitch took the time to speak about the transition, his team, and the sport in general.

It's been a wild year for HMC Racing, shifting from Ducati Superbikes to the works KTM Supermoto effort. How are you feeling about the move at this point?

Well, I'll tell you what, I was disappointed that we couldn't continue with the Ducati Superbike team at first. I thought we really proved ourselves last year. Although Doug (Chandler) was hurt at Atlanta, and he wasn't up to speed for a while because of his injuries, we still had three podium finishes. We finished second at VIR and had a handful of fourth place finishes on top of that. So, I thought we were really on the right track and that we deserved another shot at being the Ducati team. Obviously, Ducati had other ideas, and I guess we saw what the outcome of that ordeal was.

You know, I was sitting around in the wintertime just wondering what I was going to do with my crew and pondering if there was a future for the HMC, and the supermoto thing came up with Scott Russell. We were just going to be a one-man team and go with that. I thought that would be pretty nice, just to stay involved in racing with a good friend of mine in Scott. Then he had insurance issue problems and we couldn't continue with him.

But during that time, KTM had decided that the whole supermoto thing was going to be huge in the United States, and I think they were correct. They asked if I would consider running their team, and I said 'Yeah!'

I've been involved with this for a long time in Wisconsin. When Dale Corser, Troy's brother, was running for our Pro Thunder team a few years ago, he got me involved in it. We were going to go-kart tracks and just having a blast. I found out just what a great sport this is.

I went over to Europe and saw just how big it was over there. And normally what happens over there makes its way over here, and sure enough, it is. I think we're just seeing the tip of the iceberg now, and this sport is really going to explode over here in the next year or so, especially after Vegas.

With the team pre-existing and coming from another discipline, were there any particular aspects that might have been made smoother, or more difficult, because of that compared with building a team from scratch?

Actually, it was pretty simple. The cool thing about it was, a lot of my crew had experiences other than just Superbike racing and a few had already worked in supermoto before. Charly (Putz), our engine builder from Austria, his friend was Eddy Seel's factory mechanic at Husqvarna last year, and we brought him onboard. Just the connections we've made the last few years have made things easy.

Yeah, we're working on a lot more machinery right now -- we only had two Superbikes last year, but of course a Superbike is a Superbike, and these are basically high-performance dirt bikes with the good brakes and things. It was pretty easy, actually.

KTM has quite a bit of experience supermoto racing overseas -- how much information have they been able to share with your team, as far as settings and the like?

KTM has been just a phenomenal company to work with. It's just been a handful of months we've been together so far, but they brought Doug over, and we raced in the Czech Republic just to get us and Doug experience over there. Doug then brought that back over here to the younger guys on the team.

There's an open line of communication daily with the race department in Austria. We've found some things that have been useful to them, and obviously they have been a very useful resource for us. The learning curve has been real quick. It's been fantastic.

With all of the tracks being so different from each other, just how much info can be carried over from one race to the next?

The nice thing about it is the tire selection, which used to be such a big deal on the Superbike, is much more basic here. We're sponsored by Dunlop, and they won the World Championship with KTM last year, and the selection is easy. We use a 950 front and a 555 rear -- sometimes a 701 on the rear. So there's not a lot to worry about in terms of tire selection.

"I knew Doug is the professional's professional and would always be competitive. He was getting faster and faster every time out -- unfortunately he had the injury at Columbus and broke his leg. He hopes to be back by Las Vegas."

Ray Gundy photo

We have just adapted data acquisition onto one of Doug's bikes, which Boris Chambon will use this weekend, which has also helped with set-up.

As far as carrying things over from one track to another, actually there is a lot. It's really not that difficult. Basically, we set the bikes up for the pavement and try to survive the dirt. We're always hoping that the AMA is going to hold to 80/20 -- a true supermotard track is 80% pavement, 20% dirt. If they do, that makes it a lot easier for us.

Is it difficult to keep everyone happy and the egos in check when running a large team?

You know what? I've got such great guys working for me. Doug Chandler, Larry Pergram, Ben Carlson, who is an 18-year-old phenomenon, and then you have a great rider in this young kid, Chris Fillmore, who's just 16. Everybody gets along really well. The experienced guys help out the younger guys, and the information is flowing freely between everyone.

It's been a real great team effort, not only with my riders, but with my whole crew. The neat thing about the format is that we're going for a team championship and a manufacturer championship throughout the course of the season. They realize it. It's been pretty cool; we're actually working as a team.

Your riders have widely varied racing backgrounds and experience levels. What qualities did you look for when trying to determine whether or not someone would make a good supermoto racer?

Well, Doug and I had ridden before and Supermoto'd together, and I knew Doug is the professional's professional and would always be competitive. He was getting faster and faster every time out -- unfortunately he had the injury at Columbus and broke his leg. He hopes to be back by Las Vegas.

And Larry, he's another true professional and a talented guy. He's been involved in racing for many years in both dirt track and road racing, and if you have those two backgrounds, it's pretty easy to get into supermoto and be competitive.

And the two young guys, Chris and Benny, I had seen at our local track at Road America, and these two guys were just flying. I thought they might have some futures so we brought them to our test. The Austrians were there along with representatives from KTM North America, and they said we need some youth since KTM is a big believer in bringing up young riders. So we took a gamble, and so far it's really paying off.

Already we've had a nice mix of competition up front between the motocross legends, the top road racers, and the younger kids that have maybe been more focused on supermoto-style racing the past several years. Do you see a shift more and more toward the supermoto specialists in the future, or will the multi-background guys that have been around a while be able to stay competitive?

I think it's going to move more towards the specialists -- the kids that have grown up racing this and decided this is their future. Boris Chambon, for example, basically has been just a supermoto guy.

18-year-old Ben Carlson has been a nice surprise for Hansen's team. He won the Columbus Supermoto Unlimited race was leading the Supermoto race late until he crashed under pressure from eventual winner Jeff Ward.

Ray Gundy photo

You're seeing more and younger people --- they have the Red Bull Youth Cup in Austria -- you have all these young kids who are being brought up just as supermoto racers. They're just starting to break into the World Championship now.

Now that we have a few supermoto races under our belt in the U.S., has the series been developing up to your hopes and expectations?

The future is going to be huge if it's done properly. We and the AMA have to make sure this is done in a supermoto fashion. I didn't feel that Laguna Seca was really a true supermoto track -- that was a dirt track with a little bit of pavement. We need to make sure that we stay with the 80/20 guideline. I've been to two world rounds -- one in the Czech Republic and one in Austria -- and they stay right with a true 80/20%. That's the way it needs to be.

Also the tracks have to have the proper dirt. You're running on slick tires that are cut -- a spectator really wants to see the pavement. That's where it's all at -- that's where you see the sliding and the backing-in and the hard braking. That's where most of the racing and passing is going to happen. If you have too much dirt, it just takes away from the supermoto format I believe.

Editor's note: While the 80/20 ratio of asphalt to dirt is how they do it in Europe and it's purpose-built supermoto tracks, AMA Supermoto is designed to be a different beast from the start. As has been said all along, the mission of the series is to go to urban settings, where traditional motorcycle racing has never been. Given that mission, the race course often takes a shape that is suited for the unique environment it is in.

Of the tracks we've visited thus far, which did you feel was closest to the ideal?

I'd have to say South Boston. The dirt section was nice before the rain, and we had plenty of pavement, including places where the guys could actually open up these Open bikes.

I hear Vegas is going to be a true European-style supermoto track. I'm looking forward to that.

KTM has recently announced that they are planning a future in Superbike racing. Is that something you'd like to be a part of?

I would say the Superbike future for KTM is a ways down the road, and we're just enjoying this supermoto stuff so much. It's really something special, and I'm really glad to be involved on the ground floor. If the Superbike thing does happen with KTM, and I'm a part of it, that would be great, but my crew, my riders, and myself are totally satisfied racing in this new supermoto race series.